Round Peak Artists Shaped Old-Time Sound
Surry County’s Round Peak area, and the surrounding communities between Mount Airy, N.C., and Galax, Va., have shaped the sound of Old-Time music heard across the nation and around the world. Two of the best-known members of this tradition were Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerham. During the old-time music revival of the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, young musicians from all over visited Tommy and Fred and their fellow Round Peak artists, learning their tunes and enjoying their warm welcome.